Doc issues caution as Omicron subvariants confirmed in Jamaica
Published:Wednesday | August 3, 2022 | 12:11 AM
“We are not out of the woods.”
That’s the warning from president-elect of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ), Dr Leslie Meade, as the nation on Tuesday recorded subvariants of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5.
Omicron is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, which causes the infectious coronavirus disease.
The latest gene sequencing of 87 samples between May 13 and July 11 was performed at The University of the West Indies and showed that the BA.5 substrain was present in nine per cent of the samples, whereas the BA.4 subvariant accounted for six per cent.
Meade cautioned that both the variants have been reported as being more transmissible than the previous Omicron substrains, though that factor did not translate to more severe cases of disease.
For that reason, the medical doctor is hopeful that the healthcare system will not experience an increase in hospitalisations and deaths.
Low vaccination take-up
However, he said that the main concern was that Jamaica’s COVID-19 vaccination take-up, among the lowest in the Caribbean, stood at 25 per cent. That mark represents a colossal failure of the vaccination campaign which had sought, initially, to inoculate two-thirds of Jamaica’s 2.8 million population.
On Monday, July 31, Jamaica recorded 73 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the overall tally to 146,468. There was one new death. Almost 3,200 people have died from COVID in Jamaica.
“We are not quite clear of the natural immunity that we have, but the research is showing that even with both acquired immunity, which is from vaccinations, and natural immunity, that persons may still get ill,” Meade said, adding that vaccinated persons exhibit more manageable signs and symptoms than those who have not received the jab.
“Going forward, we are not out of the woods. COVID is still around and I foresee that we will have to, at this point, continue to live with it,” he said.
The incoming MAJ president blamed the nagging plague of deaths and infections on an unwilling population that refuses to get vaccinated.
As researchers have recently developed a novel vaccine candidate named mosaic-8 to possibly protect against both SARS-CoV-2 variants and other closely related coronaviruses, Meade is also urging the Government to plan for its procurement and distribution when it becomes available.
“At the end of it all, we have to ensure we still follow the protocols that have been preached over the last two-plus years,” Meade said.
The Ministry of Health & Wellness has recommended that the public continue to practise infection prevention and control techniques, including handwashing and sanitisation and the use of personal protective equipment such as masks. Persons have also been advised to social-distance.